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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23796016">Strange Friend</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Friendship, Gen, done from memory oops, no beta we die like men, only season one</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:02:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,089</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23796016</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kotori's experiences with Yuma's strange invisible alien (imaginary?) friend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mizuki Kotori &amp; Astral (Yu-Gi-Oh!), Mizuki Kotori &amp; Tsukumo Yuma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Strange Friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>wow I'm actually posting on the archive for the first time and it's for this maybe-dead fandom<br/>this isn't great, is certainly not beta'd, and is born from a prompt by the same name as the fic<br/>got inspired, spit this out, and decided heck it, why not, may as well post? <br/>Kotori suddenly being able to see Astral after the events of the WDC was really weird to me, so don't mind me shoving my "Yuma's friends can slowly see and hear Astral as the story goes on" hc. <br/>gonna go back to watching Zexal Second now thank you for clicking on the fic!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Tsukumo Yuma was a predictably unpredictable person. He would make impulse, and often idiotic, decisions, but anyone who who knew him would expect him to make said decisions. It was just how Yuma was. He never did anything halfway, always aiming to high five the sky. Success or failure, it didn’t matter to Yuma, as long as he gave it his best shot and had fun while doing it. His erupting energetic personality, coupled with his, sometimes obnoxiously, loud mouth, only added to him standing out in their school. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kotori liked to think she knew Yuma better than most everyone else in the school. While he was well known throughout, he wasn’t exactly popular. People would rather laugh at his shouts of “kattobingu!” and wild antics, than actually talk to him. They didn’t know of Yuma’s other traits, the traits that only Kotori and a select few others got to bear witness to. For a while it was just her, Yuma, and Tetsuo. Lately, their little group has been expanding, forming the Numbers Club. Kotori, for the most part, didn’t have any problems with this growth, and instead was glad to have more friends to be around (even if she and Cat may… squabble at times). </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There is one person in the group however that Kotori still wasn’t entirely sure what to think of him. Is person even the right word to describe him? Either way, the individual in question is none other than Astral. For a bit, Kotori wasn’t even sure Astral existed. That he was a figment of Yuma’s imagination. As time went on and Yuma continued to talk to the air beside him, she began to wonder if it was possible that maybe Astral did exist. Eventually, she couldn’t deny that yes, Yuma really could see an invisible alien duelist. Of course it’d be Yuma with a really strange friend that no one else can see. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shortly after she confirmed that he did indeed exist, Kotori decided that she disliked Astral. Yeah he helped Yuma win duels, but in doing so he dragged Yuma into all this weird number business! The first couple times, it was strange and all, but seemed relatively harmless. (Yuma later shared that if he were to lose these duels, Astral would die, so maybe not as harmless as Kotori had assumed.) Then the number hunter emerged, and she came to realize just how much danger Yuma was in. The worst part of it all was that he hadn’t even confided in her about it. He was constantly hiding something from her, from the rest of their friends, and that only made her worry more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite being angry at Astral for dragging Yuma into this drama, she still saw how important he was to Yuma. So when the key was taken by Kaito with him still in it, as well as Shark’s soul, she went along to help free them. She fought the security bots by Tetsuo’s side as Yuma went off to go find Kaito. The next thing she knew, the hideout’s security was going off. They all barely made it out in time, just as the building self-destructed. Yuma hardly made it out at all, the building had collapsed onto him. He later shared with her that while fighting Kaito he had fused with Astral, becoming Zexal. It was because of this that he had lived the blast, that he made it out. Kotori wished at this moment that the alien was physical, for she wanted nothing more than to hug him. Instead, she settled for thanking him. She could have sworn she heard an “of course” in response, but that could have just as easily been the blood still rushing in her ears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She started to hear more and more snippets of what could have been Astrals voice. Never anything for certain, and certainly never anything more than a few words long. She wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t her imagination, along with the occasional ripples in the air that were vaguely humanoid shaped. Kotori experienced these phenomenons throughout the World Duel Carnival, but it wasn’t until after the fight with III, as they were all falling to their demise, that these events intensified. Watching Yuma and Astral overlay themselves into Zexal was nothing short of otherworldly, and incredible. Their power together seemingly invincible. After they were all safe again, Kotori began to notice that she was, indeed hearing Astral, at least somewhat. Parts of strategy in duels, him repremending Yuma, just little tidbits of normal conversation. If the light shone just right, she could make out his form as well, made it easier to talk to him for sure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, the finals happened. Watching Yuma and Astral form Zexal once again was awe inspiring, and her heart leapt with glee at the crowd’s cheers of “Zexalura! Zexalura!”. It was in this moment that she realized just how powerful Yuma had become with Astral by his side, he could seemingly do anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, he was gone. The Sphere Field had left the arena, with Zexal still inside. All logical reasoning left Kotori’s head as she rushed towards Heartland Tower. Amidst all the chaos, such a small girl was hardly noticed running towards the danger. Akari called, her concern appreciated, but Kotori couldn’t let her hold her back from saving Yuma. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she got into the building. She had to help Yuma, she didn’t know quite how she could, but she’d figure that out when she got there. A small part of her brain helpfully supplied that that sounds like a plan Yuma would have. This only motivated her more. She soon ran into Kaito and Shark, both determined to save their close ones as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was all long, far far too long, but eventually they were really all safe. Kotori looked at each one of them individually, before locking eyes with Astral. His form, while still rather transparent, was finally fully visible to her. He didn’t even look too shocked by this, just offered her a smile when he realized he could be seen. Kotori smiled back, without any hesitation at all. Despite the danger seemingly surrounding him, Astral was a good friend to have around. He cared about those around him, especially Yuma, and that’s one thing they’ll always have in common. After befriending someone like Yuma, there’s no way Kotori could be content with just normal friends again, but a weird invisible alien may just be the strangest of them all.</span>
</p>
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